Russia Strikes Mittal’s Steel Plant as Ukraine Escalates Drone War

New Delhi, August 17, 2026 The Russia-Ukraine conflict has entered another intense phase, with both sides increasingly carrying out long-range strikes far from the front lines. In the latest escalation, a Russian missile attack hit ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, the largest integrated steel complex in Ukraine associated with Indian-origin billionaire Lakshmi Mittal. The strike killed two people, injured 14 workers and damaged key facilities, forcing the plant to partially suspend production. The attack came after Ukraine launched hundreds of drones across Russian territory in one of its largest aerial offensives of the war. Russia’s Defence Ministry said it intercepted 822 Ukrainian drones overnight. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said around 600 drones had been detected heading toward the Russian capital, with about one-third of them destroyed over the Moscow region. Moscow regional Governor Andrey Vorobyov described the assault as "one of the most massive drone attacks in recent memory". The Ukrainian strikes also caused deaths and damage in several Russian regions. Vorobyov said an 83-year-old man was killed when a Ukrainian drone struck a private house in the Moscow region. A separate attack triggered a fire at a Wildberries warehouse in Podolsk, belonging to Russia’s largest online retailer, which is controlled by billionaire Tatyana Kim. In the Rostov region, Governor Yury Slyusar said more than 150 drones targeted three towns, killing five people, damaging homes and a railway station, and starting a forest fire. Ukraine has increasingly relied on long-range missiles and large drone formations to target Russian military-linked industries, energy infrastructure and logistics networks. Wildberries facilities have also repeatedly come under attack, with the strikes causing major commercial losses and bringing the effects of the war closer to Russian civilians. At the same time, Russia has continued striking Ukrainian industrial and energy infrastructure, as seen in the attack on the Kryvyi Rih steel complex. With fighting along the front lines showing little movement and diplomatic negotiations remaining stalled, both Russia and Ukraine are intensifying attacks deep inside each other’s territory. The widening use of missiles and drones is increasingly affecting industrial facilities, businesses, transport networks and civilian areas, underscoring how the nearly four-and-a-half-year-old war continues to expand beyond the battlefield.